The Origins course tracks the origin of all things – from the Big Bang to the origin of the Solar System and the Earth. The course follows the evolution of life on our planet through deep geological time to present life forms.

From the lesson

Oxygenation and Animals

In module 6 Tais Wittchen Dahl will take a detailed look at one of the most important factors controlling the evolution of life - oxygen. In the previous lectures you have already heard that the oxygen levels have changed in the past. Tais will show you what the mechanisms behind changes in global oxygen levels are and what are the most important consequences. One of the amazing possible consequences was that during the Carboniferous, dragonflies had wing spans of up to 75 cms! Higher oxygen levels not only allowed for the evolution of higher life forms, it may also have limited the size of insects and predatory fish, and ultimately furthered the evolution of intelligent life. Without the increase in oxygen, it would be impossible for us to understand the lectures in this course!